Tips for working with neighbors to promote habitat?

[1GB]

After talking with some neighbors there's been some interest in working together to promote our local pheasant population. Overall it's a combination of people who hunt and non-hunters. Our combined acreage so far is limited, but I feel that we can utilize non-interested neighbors properties as well by assessing what they are providing without realizing it (primarily either winter cover or CSG nesting cover) and complement it by plugging the lowest hole in the bucket.

I'm wondering if anyone has tips/suggestions/past insight on how to approach something like this?

One concern I have is that everyone's interest in wanting to plant food plots, when we really need nesting and brooding cover IMO.

A second concern I have is cost - what cheap alternatives could have a significant impact? I've thought about trying to garner some interest in disc-disturbance because it seems it'd be relatively cheap and easy. Burning is another thought I had, but I have no idea how easy or practical this will be for our area/local ordinances.

A final concern I have is most involved also like to deer hunt and long term most may want their trees and brush to keep growing without hitting the reset button on succession.

Thanks in advance for any thoughts/comments/ideas.

 

[captaincoot]

Oats is cheap and pheasant love to nest in it. But you would have to plant every year Some poeple around here go to the public areas in the fall and get buckets of native grass seed and plant what they can each year of their own. Takes time but it's cheap. Talk to the county conservation guys sometimes they have alittle extra laying around and it'll be free. Plant a couple apple trees and alflafa for the deer. I'm sure guys on here will give you alot better advice then me, but thats a good thing Good luck.

 

[Prairie Drifter]

Tough row to hoe at times. I think my first effort would be to privately evaluate their ground as you noted. Assess the level of succession, % habitat types, variety, etc. Then, get all of the interested cooperators together and buy some steak. Invite all of the potential landowners over for steak and a talk from you local PF biologist or NRCS District Conservationist, or Extension Agent to discuss potential of entering parts of their land into existing programs. Discuss the value of perennial vegetation plantings vs annual food plots. Acknowledge the value of both and how some plantings can benefit both pheasants and deer. Alfalfa is excellent nesting habitat for pheasants and great browse for deer. All you need do is establish a harvest date that allows the majority of nests to hatch off. Here it is July 1. VOLUNTEER to assist with their project development and maintenance. Design plantings that will be manageable through the fence. Think about fire breaks, travel lanes, and distribution while looking at the "big picture". Stress how the combination of effort can magnify the results vs individual efforts unconnected. If there are producers in the group, stress plant species that will allow them income and still provide nesting, brood-rearing, or winter cover too. Remind them that even deer don't need any plants that are older than 20. Have a plan to cut over woody growth and use the wood down the road-fire wood, posts, rails, pulp, etc. Might mention grouse, woodcock, and other species that might benefit from this management. This any help?

 

[jaytee]

This is something that I need to do here as well, but for our quail since we dont have pheasant. It seems to be the initial step that is the hardest one to take and also, as crazy as this sounds, the possibility of this idea or movement actually working and the monumental task and hard work that lies ahead. The old "be carefull what you ask for". I've not took that initial step yet but I'm trying to get up the "nerve" to do so. I do have a co-worker who's farm is two places east of mine but I dont think he's as enthusiastic as I am.

 

[M. R. Byrd]

Prairie Drifter has given some good advice about getting the local experts on the ground at the cooperating landowner's land. Michigan might as well be across the pond for me, since I haven't a clue about your plantings and habitat.

I will add my two cents on things that work/didn't work here on the prairie. Young chicks need the protein from insects and grasses don't produce insects of any number, but forbs, legumes and annual broadleaf weeds produce an abundance of insects. Quail need a closed overstory and an open understory which is something that forbs, legumes and weeds have that grass doesn't have. A mixture of grass and forbs, legumes and weeds work well though. Here on the prairie, we have burned our initial seedings of grass from the first CRP plantings and interseeded forbs and legumes, which has worked well. Forbs that we use are maximillian sunflower, Illinois bundleflower, partridge pea and alfalfa and clover for legumes. After we burned our CRP grass, which looked like a solid stand of grass we found out it was really clumps of grass with plenty of thatch in between the grass, so there was a lot of bare ground to establish the forbs and legumes. That thatch prevented ground travel by the birds and provided visual access to the birds by raptors. You may have some stands of fescue and brome that may be thick and would take some type of disturbance to interseed.

Hinge cutting trees might also work in your area, providing a living brushpile for the coveys.

Waste areas that can't be farmed, hayed or grazed could be excellent if they exist in your coop area. There may be areas that are being farmed, hayed or grazed that are not profitable as such. Pheasants Forever/Quail Forever is working here in Kansas to put Farm Bill Biologist on the ground in NRCS offices. Part of their work is to help a landowner, if he or she desires, see how areas of their land could lend itself to wildlife habitat, especially areas of little economic value to the farm or ranch operation. The FBB program has been successful in other states and I anticipate it will be successful in Kansas, putting more critical habitat on the prairie.

I too, suspect that permanent undisturbed nesting cover is probably your number one limitation. Food plots are what many people focus on, but if you can't sustain a hen's nest, there won't be any need of food.

Good luck,

 

[Prairie Drifter]

Maynard covered some good habitat points. If I misunderstood and that was part of what you were looking for, sorry, but Maynard picked up my voids. One thing I would like every farmer to do at least 1 time is to harvest with a combine equiped with GPS production monitors that map productivity. Many fields have dead spots in them that cost the landowner significant loss. These areas can be put into continuous CRP through one of the federal programs where they will add income instead of loss. If all we did was remove these unproductive acres from production and put them into nesting or brood-rearing habitat, I believe we'd see a significant increase in our upland bird populations range wide. So, a rep from a harvester or equipment company that provides this type of service might need a steak too.